In June 2012 I sent Freedom of Information requests to all local authorities in England asking whether they would be claiming Alternative Provision Funding on behalf of home educated children. A full set of answers can be found here

Where a local authority is already paying for SEN support or FE courses by mid January 2013 (ie for the academic year 2012-13), an entry can be made on the annual Alternative Provision Census. Please see the DfE Guidance and DfE Home Education Funding FAQ for more details.

The bar chart on the left shows the percentage of local authorities in each region who will be claiming funding.

Authorities in the West Midlands are most likely to claim (4 out of 11)

Authorities in the South East also likely to claim (6 out 17)

Authorities in the North East are least likely to claim (0 out of 8)

Across all LAs in England, 1 in 5 is claiming funding on behalf of home educated children

The bar chart shows the percentage of local authorities in each region who will NOT be claiming funding.

There is considerable variation amongst regions over decision not to claim

It is striking that authorities in the Midlands are the most open to claiming, possibly because these authorities have the opportunity of regular networking via the regional forum in Staffordshire

The North East, East Anglia and London are most likely to dismiss the possibility of claiming funding on behalf of home educated children

The bar chart shows the percentage of local authorities in each region who are UNDECIDED about funding

Many local authorities are still undecided about funding

Over a third of authorities in all areas are still undecided about funding

In some areas the proportion undecided rises to almost two thirds

Fewer Than 50 Home Educated Children

The bar chart on the left shows local authorities with fewer than 50 EHE children who will be claiming funding.

There are 3 broad categories of yes, will be claiming funding, no, won't be claiming funding, and not yet decided (which includes those who may claim or who are looking into it)

The first column Y represents authorities who have said yes, they will be claiming

The second column N represents authorities who have said no, they won't be claiming

The third column NDY represents authorities who have not yet made a decision about funding

51 to 100 Home Educated Children

The bar chart on the left shows the percentage of local authorities with fewer than 51 to 100 EHE children who will be claiming funding.

There are 3 broad categories of yes, will be claiming funding, no, won't be claiming funding, and not yet decided (which includes those who may claim or who are looking into it)

There are 3 broad categories of yes, will be claiming funding, no, won't be claiming funding, and not yet decided

The first column Y represents authorities who have said yes, they will be claiming

The second column N represents authorities who have said no, they won't be claiming

The third column NDY represents authorities who have not yet made a decision about funding

101 to 250 Home Educated Children

The bar chart on the left shows the percentage of local authorities with 101 to 250 EHE children who will be claiming funding.

The first column Y represents authorities who have said yes, they will be claiming

The second column N represents authorities who have said no, they won't be claiming

The third column NDY represents authorities who have not yet made a decision about funding

251 to 500 Home Educated Children

The bar chart on the left shows the percentage of local authorities with 251 to 500 EHE children who will be claiming funding.

The first column Y represents authorities who have said yes, they will be claiming

The second column N represents authorities who have said no, they won't be claiming

The third column NDY represents authorities who have not yet made a decision about funding

Only 10% of the larger LAs have decided against funding; the remainder will be claiming or have yet to make a decision

As LAs increase in size, the percentage of LAs not claiming funding gets smaller and smaller

As LAs increase in size, the percentage of LAs claiming funding gets larger

Over 500 Home Educated Children

The bar chart on the left shows the percentage of local authorities with more than 500 EHE children who will be claiming funding.

There are 3 broad categories of yes, will be claiming funding, no, won't be claiming funding, and not yet decided (which includes those who may claim or who are looking into it)

There are only 2 local authorities with 500+ home educated children on their books

1 of the largest LAs says it will make use of the funding, while the other won't

Comparison of Authorities By Size

When the charts are placed side by side, it it easy to see how larger authorities are more proactive in sorting out funding for home educated children, since the left-hand column, representing authorities who are using the funding, increases in size from the smallest to the largest authorities.

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